EUGENE, Ore.—An Oregon man faces federal charges after twice breaking windows and destroying property at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Grants Pass, Oregon because the clinic provides reproductive health services.
Devin Friedrick Kruse, 26, a Grants Pass resident, has been charged by misdemeanor criminal information with two counts of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
According to court documents, on November 23, 2021, Kruse is alleged to have intentionally broken security cameras and a window at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Grants Pass. He returned three days later, on November 26, 2021, and threw a concrete block through a window at the clinic and tore down the clinic’s intercom system. The clinic has remained closed since these incidents occurred.
Kruse will make his first appearance in federal court on March 14, 2022.
Misdemeanor violations of the FACE Act are punishable by up to one year in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Grants Pass Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Gavin W. Bruce and John C. Brassell, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon, and Cameron A. Bell, Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
A criminal information is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
In 1994, Congress passed the FACE Act in response to an increase in violence toward patients and providers of reproductive health services. The FACE Act prohibits violent, threatening, damaging and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with an individual’s right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.
If you or someone you know is in danger, please call 911.
Suspected violations of the FACE Act can be reported to the FBI by calling (503) 224-4181 or by visiting tips.fbi.gov.